16. Sunspot Department Store
As we kept running, fleeing from some unknown pursuer, a rental bicycle caught my eye.
It was in the parking lot of a 24-hour convenience store. The city still hummed under a deep purple night sky, now in the late-night hours.
Checking my wristwatch, I saw my remaining time had dwindled to just under 30 hours.
"Thirty hours, huh…"
I muttered, and Jinri glanced over, asking,
"How's it feel? Like a glass half full of water? Or half empty?"
"Your analogy's off. It's not half—it's less than a fifth."
"No need for such crude calculations. This is about feeling, not logic. It's more proverb than reasoning."
"Hmm."
Mimicking the polar bear's thoughtful pose, I pondered for 0.02 seconds before answering.
"Glass half full."
"…"
Jinri's face lit up with a touched expression, which quickly turned into a satisfied smile.
"I love that achromatic stance of yours, Yura-kun."
"And I love that you love me for it."
My casual reply must have given away its flippancy, as her smile vanished instantly.
A pleasant silence settled between us, and we hurried along the road. The police were still chasing us.
After about three minutes of running, I realized this could go on forever. We entered an area of towering skyscrapers, where the gaps between buildings widened, and the concrete took on an ivory hue with translucent patches.
The neon cherry blossom trees lining the 15-lane road were so dazzling I instinctively wanted to shield my eyes from the light.
"It's too bright…"
I muttered, and Jinri explained.
"This is Sunspot Street. The brightest place in the city."
"But aren't sunspots the darkest parts of the sun?"
"Well, this isn't the sun."
The fireworks here made noise.
Not as loud as a fireworks festival, but enough to stimulate the auditory senses. Even with my body's noise-canceling activated, the chatter of the city's humanoid robots seeped through.
"Let's find somewhere to go inside," I said, almost pleading.
Jinri nodded.
"Yeah. We're still naked, after all."
"Let's go in there."
I pointed at a building that caught my eye. Nearby, a massive black hexagonal structure loomed.
"Sunspot Department Store," Jinri said, her eyes tinged with nostalgia.
"I used to work part-time there."
"A department store?"
I tilted my head.
It felt less like a place for shopping and more like a foreboding research facility or secret agency.
The hexagonal structure stood in a corner of the bright street, exuding a matte, light-absorbing dark energy. Its presence seemed to balance the overwhelming brilliance of the street, making it bearable, and I oddly understood why such a building was constructed here.
"Good choice," Jinri said.
"It's the biggest place around here, perfect for hiding. With so many humanoid robots, we won't stand out, and they sell tons of clothes, so we can do something about being naked."
"Then let's go in."
We ran toward Sunspot Department Store. The closer we got, the more it felt like the night deepened around us. Until then, the sky had been filled with vibrant fireworks that made it feel like daytime, throwing off my sense of time. But as we approached this ominous hexagon, the true night atmosphere of Tropical Night City returned.
Suddenly, another memory resurfaced.
"I hate daytime."
I muttered, and the shock of the memory returning made my steps feel heavy.
Jinri grabbed my hand, pulling me along, and caught my words.
"You know daytime. You probably haven't lived in this city your whole life."
Where had I come from to end up in this city?
The reason became clear.
"I hated daytime. The sun felt oppressive, so I escaped the brightness and ended up here."
"And yet," Jinri added with a wry tone, "you'll die without that sun."
"Like some primitive animal."
"Well, since we're moving, technically we are animals."
"That's not what I meant," I corrected her. "I meant 'animal' as in the English sense."
"But this city's standard language is Japanese, so you've got to express it in Japanese."
Thus began a pointless argument.
Are humanoid robots animals or animals?
As we engaged in this fruitless debate, we were enveloped in complete darkness, standing before the entrance of Sunspot Department Store.
It was so dark that nothing was visible.
"The moment visible light completely disappears is the entrance to Sunspot Department Store," Jinri explained.
I could've activated sensors to detect other wavelengths, but I didn't want to disrupt the comforting darkness after so long.
I savored the state of seeing nothing.
It was like licking ice cream in a sweltering summer room while a fan blows cool air—a sensation close to bliss.
With my visual sensors blocked, I could allocate energy to my auditory sensors, making Jinri's high-fidelity voice come through more vividly and clearly.
"Alright, let's go in."
Holding hands, we stepped into Sunspot Department Store.